Paradiso
by Lithium Delusions
Summary: When the door to paradise opened, the world died. D was determined not to lose the wolves. Crossover with Wolf's Rain. Repost for Lukidimension.
1. Chapter 1

Paradiso: Prologue-**Before Paradise**

Disclaimers: What we own follows as thus- ourselves, a computer and a slowly recovering manga and anime collection, with the occasional gashapon or plushie thrown in. We do not in any way own either of the characters or worlds contained within this fic. Those belong respectively to Matsuri Akino-sama and Studio Bones. We make no profit off of this but the pleasure.

A/N- just a short intro here. This does not have anything to do with our "WICKED" run (which will be continued). Totally different alternate universe. First crossover fic. We had been tossing this idea around for a while; but LukiDimension convinced us to buckle down and write it. Let us know what you think. We have about four certain chapters and a few more in the limbo of development. Hope you like what you see so far. (Please to be reviewing? Reviews are the bread and the wine of the fan-fic writer. Subu-chan and I are starving here!)

Additional Notes-- this fic will make but little sense if you haven't seen the Wolf's Rain anime. Most specifically the last couple of episodes. The manga is a totally different creature.

_The wind hits me first, bitterly cold and tainted. My sense of the earth beneath my feet is sheer agony, for the world is thrashing in its death throes. I stagger and clutch at a frozen outcropping as the ice shudders below me. I can feel the world dying all around me and my life goes with it. It is anguish to keep moving, but I have to. I can feel them somewhere ahead of me. Already their lives are flickering, feeble points of light seen through a storm. One is fading fast, nearly gone and even as I force my shuddering body toward where it fails, I can feel a second and then fast on its heels, yet another guttering and weakening._

_Darkness crowds my vision when I reach the first. They lie together in the snow, flakes clinging to cooling bodies. One is of no interest to me, his mortal spark gone past all recalling. The second, cradled in the man's arms, is nearly gone, but a stubborn spark of life still clings, though to a body nearly devoid of life. I lift the bloody form in my arms, feeling my strength draining from me like the lifeblood through the gaping bullet wound in the slim body I hold. _

"I have one." _ The words are said to the empty, lifeless air, but the reply is immediate. _

"I'll bring him up. Are you alright?"_ The worry is evident and I allow myself a small smile._

"I am-managing. It is not comfortable and my strength fades fast, but I will not stop until I have all of them."

"Dammit, you should have let me do it!"_ The body in my arms grows insubstantial and fades into the snowy air._

"You know why I could not. You would not have survived. Do you have him?"

"Yes. You're not far from the rest of them."

"I know. I can feel them, though their lives are fading faster than that of the planet itself."

"I still would have done it."

"I know. You would have died for it, and I **_will not_** risk losing you again."_ I smile and hurry my dragging steps. The silence that answers has an embarrassed quality._

_With every step I can feel the earth dying by inches, a drowning creature pulling me down with it. Aching, I wall away as much of the planet's mortal agonies as I can. I cannot fail this time. Another body, this one lying broken and shattered at the foot of the mountain where I can feel the others fading, falling into the darkness. To reach them is a struggle in and of itself, made worse by the twin deaths of the planet that nurtured me and my own failing life._

_They lie together, devoted to each other even as death claims them, but I will not let death steal them from me as it has stolen so many others. I kneel and rest hands on snow-covered fur. One is not pureblooded, but I know that to leave this one is to lose the other. He will not live without her and the same goes for her. Smiling softly, I speak to the air once more. _"Two more."

"I have them. Hurry, **_please!_** I can feel you dying from here."_ There is agony and fear in the reply and I steel myself against this new anguish. That I am the one causing it is a pain sharper than a knife._

"I am doing all I can. Have faith in me."

"You know I do. Don't die on me. I can't do this alone."_ Unsaid, the implication that death would be preferable to trying. I force myself to block the pain away. I can't be distracted now. I cannot let myself waver._

_Not much further, I find the next. Bloodstains and furrows of dirty snow show that he gave a good accounting for himself before falling. He fought well and valiantly, for the sake of the others. I touch gray fur and call again, hiding the growing weakness in my voice. _"Another. Only the last two to go now."

_The body disappears beneath my fingers. _"They're moving away from you. Can you catch them?"

"I have to, now don't I? How are the others?"

"Healing. Ahn-suoh is with them. She will not give up any more than you will."

"Good."_ I rise to my feet with the aid of the bloodied rock where the last one lay. It is harder than it should be, and I know death is close at hand. I force my failing body into a run, knowing I have little time left to find the most important ones. This time there is a clear trail, dragging prints in the snow and spatters of blood marring the whiteness. So much blood. I wonder if he will bleed out before I reach him. No! I cannot let that happen._

_I almost miss the end of the trail and the still figure lying there, as pale as the falling snow. Only the lack of tracks stops me and I fall to my knees beside the figure half-buried in the freshly fallen snow. One golden eye opens, but I do not know if it truly sees me before drifting shut. I am shaking with a cold deeper than that of the planet around me. The world is nearly gone now, dying before it can be reborn. It will take me with if I do not escape. _"I have them."_ There is no disguising the weakness now and I do not try, collapsing over the body of the last. _"Bring us home."

_Warmth and the familiar feel of my haven. The magic succors me and I stir weakly. Arms gather me up, trembling. _"You idiot! You moron, don't you let go now. Ten-chan, get a blanket! Tetsu, hurry with that!"

_I would laugh if I had the strength at the way they rush to obey. It is for my sake, but they obey, which is a far cry from before. Warmth wraps around me and something hot is pressed into my trembling hands. Hands steady mine and help me lift the cup. I recognize the scent. It is a restorative, powerful and heady. I sip cautiously, feeling life flow back into frozen limbs._

"Are they all here? Are they safe?" _I demand when I can speak again. I struggle to rise but am restrained by all those gathered around me._

"You got them all."_ I am told. Others rush to add assurances._

"They are healing."

"Ahn-suoh is healing them now."

"Ahn-suoh had the hardest time with the first one, he was so far gone, but she says she can hold him now."

"They will live, she says."

"She promised she would hold them to life."

"Ahn-suoh works a great healing. She told us not to disturb her."

"She wants you when you are strong enough. She needs help."

_I start to rise, but gentle hands hold me back. _"No. You've done enough. Ahn-suoh and I can finish. All she needs is someone to lend her strength, right? I can do that well enough."_ Others surround me, supporting me. _"Take him to bed and make sure he stays there."

_Again, there is no disobedience, no muttered growls. They all heed and I find myself laughing weakly as I am helped away to my bed. It is done. Relief fills me. I did not fail again._


	2. Chapter 2

Paradiso: Chapter One-**Slumbering paradise.**

_A/N- here you go. Chapter one complete. A little short, but it gets the point across. By the way, the title comes from the track of the same name on the WR soundtrack. On a side note- does anyone know the song that was playing when Darcia entered Jagera's Keep. It's not on the soundtrack and Akita and I have been wanting to hear the whole thing-minus the dialogue._

He woke slowly, unsure of where he was or why he was there. He was so cold and his legs trembled from weakness and blood-loss. He could not trust his nose, for it carried the scent of incense and warm air to him and he knew only snow as the world died slowly around him. There were other aromas, but he could not name them.

"Rest, my wolf. Rest and heal." There was a quiet voice in his ears and a gentle hand rested on his head. "You may sleep now. The time is not yet right for you to wake."

The heavy smell of incense was thick in the air and somehow it was a familiar, soothing scent. Her scent! It was her intoxicating odor! Why did the incense smell like her? He struggled desperately toward wakefulness, despite the bone-weary ache that was in every inch of his body.

"He's not just going to rest quietly, y'know." A second voice spoke into the incense-laden air, but he could not identify the scent that accompanied it. "He won't stop searching. It's too much a part of his nature."

"How like someone else I know." There was amusement in the first voice.

"Then you know what I mean. I wouldn't rest until I found you, and he won't rest either." A second hand touched his head. "Listen to me, wolf. She is waiting for you, but she's sleeping now. When the time is right, you'll see her again. She promised you, didn't she? She's waiting for you, all of you, but for now she's sleeping until it is time. Just as you need to sleep. Do you understand?"

"All?" He was so weak that it took every bit of his strength just to pose the single, simple question.

"All of you," The first voice confirmed softly. "Your pack is here too, my wolf."

It couldn't be and yet he knew it was truth. Beneath her pervading scent and the strange odor of the two with him, he could smell his pack-mates. They were all here. How? He remembered blood on the snow and the glazing eyes that saw nothing anymore. He remembered them falling, one by one. He fought the strange lethargy that held him, desperate to see, to know for certain.

"If I let you see them, will you rest?" Asked the second voice.

"My pack…?" He managed.

"You have to promise to rest."

"Yes… I promise."

Gentle hands lifted his head and turned it. "Open your eyes."

He dragged reluctant eyes open. Four curled heaps of fur met his disbelieving gaze. They were there, sides gently rising and falling in the steady rhythm of sleep. Black and russet, red and iron-gray, they were _all _here, all_ alive_! A low whine of relief escaped him.

"You see?"

"I see…"

His head was gently lowered and blue eyes, bright with humor, met his. "They're here and safe, waiting for her to awaken, wolf. Now will you sleep?"

"S-she will wake? The others?" He asked, struggling against the weary body that cried desperately for rest. "They live?"

"They do. They and she will wake soon enough, my wolf." Answered the first voice. "As promised, you have found your way there. All you must do is wait for the right time to awaken. Now, please, rest." The gentle hand returned, stroking his head.

Amber eyes drifted closed. "Rest…"

He heard their voices still, but they were distant as the haze of weariness dragged him down. The others were safe. The knowledge was as comforting as the warmth that was slowly seeping into his aching limbs. He didn't know how it had happened and for once in his life he did not care. So long as they were safe and alive, that was all that mattered. The anguish in his chest eased.

His pack…

"How perceptive of you. How did you know what would ease his mind enough to rest?" The first voice asked softly, fingers still smoothing his fur.

A soft chuckle answered. "Like me, he couldn't relax until he knew. I couldn't stop searching until I found you, and he couldn't stop until he was sure. Sure of his pack and sure of his world."

"His world? How very eloquent of you."

"That girl, the one they called the flower maiden, is the center of his world. She _is_ his world as much as _you_ are mine."

There was melting warmth in the reply. "I never tire of hearing you admit that, my dear."

"I'll keep admitting it if you listen to you own advice, just this once."

"What advice is that?"

"To rest."

The white wolf's sides heaved once in a huge sigh and he descended into the warm depths of slumber, waiting to awake to paradise.


	3. Chapter 3

Paradiso: Chapter Two-**Not Quite Paradise**

"Are you sure about this?"

D cast a glance over his shoulder at the figure sprawled on the grass behind him. "What should I have to be unsure about?"

Leon shrugged. "I don't know. It just seems a little unfair to me."

D turned to stare at him in frank astonishment. "Unfair? What do you mean?"

"The world." Leon rose to his feet and gestured at the unending grass plain around them. "They're waiting for paradise. This isn't it."

Dee sighed. "No. It isn't. For all my pretensions, the pet shop is no paradise. But I do not wish for them to slumber forever. I have no such illusions about the world left behind." He knelt and cupped a tiny, white flower between his hands. "Even this one does not have the strength to restore a whole world without much more time than you can imagine. She would stretch herself far too thin."

"But isn't that what she promised?"

D looked up at him and Leon was struck by the sadness in his mismatched eyes. "I have struggled long and hard to save everyone I could. Yet I still failed. I could not save the one who needed me the most. I could not save the world."

Leon knelt and cupped his hands around D's. "She will. Just give her the time."

D sighed. "But they do not deserve to sleep so long. None of them do." One sharp fingernail touched the white petals with an infinitesimally gentle gesture. "She doesn't either. While the part of her that is the flower maiden of legend struggles to restore the world, the part of her that loved these five sleeps here too. She no more deserves to slumber for an endless time awaiting the reawakening of the world than they do, trapped like this. To awaken like that is a betrayal. A false paradise."

"What do you mean?"

"This before you is her truest form, that of the flower commonly known as the lunar flower. The form she had then was a perversion. One created by the humans, the Nobles, in their futile attempt to understand and control the legend. But she loved that form because in it she could run with the ones she adored."

"I don't get it."

"In her natural form, she is thus, a small flower that can easily be crushed underfoot. But she has been changed by the humans, like I have. She cannot run with those she loves more than her life itself."

Leon sat back, resting on his heels. "I've seen plants take on human form here in your shop, same as the pets do."

"A fleeting, spurious form that does not last past the dawn. It is in their nature to do so. They wither away, like the plant that saved your life."

"Gattolotta…" Leon said softly.

"Yes. She bloomed to save your life all that time ago and withered away, her function spent." D stared at the fragile bloom sheltered in his cupped hands. "This one is different." He caught Leon's hand and touched one of his fingers to the bloom gently. "Can you feel it? Can you feel the bitter tears?"

Leon winced and drew away. He shook his hand, trying to rid it of the stinging sensation left there. He still wasn't used to all the weird things he could do now. "Pain. She hurts." He looked down on the flower, awed at all the power and potential in the tiny thing. "Sorrow. She knows… she knows she will never be with the ones she loves the same way she was before."

D nodded. "You see my dilemma. Even when she restores the world, it will never be paradise for her. Only for others."

Leon looked over the grass at the moonlight-gilded forms of five sleeping wolves. He rose and went to them, resting his hand on each of their heads in turn. He paused with his hand on the head of the pack leader, the massive white wolf. A spasm of pain flashed over his face. "Not for him either." He told D. "Without her, he will go on searching until he dies. He can't stop or rest. She is his paradise."

"Yes."

Leon pulled his hand away with a pained grimace. "Well, that just sucks."

D sat in the grass; heedless of the damage he might do to his silk cheongsam. "You understand why I am troubled?"

"Yeah." Leon came back to his side and sat, staring at the white flower and a little further away, the forms of five sleeping wolves. "Y'know something, D? They all care for her as they knew her. From what I get from them, she was the glue that kept them together. I think without her the-oh, hell, what's the word? The things that make them a pack?"

"Pack-bonds?"

"Yeah. Without her, the pack-bonds will break."

D stared at Leon for a long moment, a small smile curving the corner of his mouth. "Sometimes you still surprise me." He murmured thoughtfully.

"Thanks, I think. So, what can we do?"

"Therein lies the problem." D sighed and rested his head on Leon's broad shoulder. "I want her to restore the world, for the sake of all creatures, but I do not want to be the cause of her unhappiness. Even as she sleeps I can feel the anguish she feels at being apart from those she loves most."

Leon stared pensively at the white flower. "So while she sleeps here, she's also working on restoring the earth?" He had an idea, but wasn't sure if it would work.

"Yes, in a way. The earth slumbers too, beneath a blanket of snow and ice. She seeded it before we found her and the rest of them. When the ice thaws and rain falls, the lunar flowers will bloom and begin the restoration. Some of her energy remains here, in this tiny bloom, but a great deal of it lies on the sleeping planet below." D explained. "That which is her personality is here, in this single bloom."

"Could you wake her without screwing things up down there?"

D looked at Leon thoughtfully. "Possibly, but why?"

"I've seen you do some seriously weird shit before. If I helped you, could you pull off one of the weirdest?" Leon was smiling now, a fierce, wolfish smile that would have done any of the sleeping pack proud.

"In what way?"

"I have an idea, but it's a crazy one. I don't know if it will work. I don't know if you can pull it off, even with my power added to yours."

D pulled back, a little offended by the doubt in Leon's voice. "I can do many things. Did not I prove that to you? You are what you are now because of me."

Leon hid a sly grin. D was well and truly hooked now. All he had to do was express a little doubt in D's abilities and he had D eating out of the palm of his hand.

"It'll take some doing."

"What is it?" There was impatience in D's voice now and Leon stifled a chuckle. Oh, yes, D was in too deep now to back out now.

Leon just grinned. "You said it yourself, D. This may not be paradise, but it'll be closer than the earth. We can do it."

"What? What is it?" D stared at him in annoyance.

Leon stood and pulled D to his feet. "Why, we're going to make a paradise for them!"

"What?" D sat back down abruptly.


	4. Chapter 4

Paradiso: Chapter Three-**To Make a Paradise**

"How do you intend to attempt such a madness?" D had adopted the pose he only used when Leon had completely flustered him, hands on his hips, glaring in shocked disbelief.

"You did it once before. You said it yourself. You made me what I am now, remember?" Leon said calmly, persuasively.

"I did not change your entire nature." D protested. "You remain at the heart, human. Only your body is not."

"My body and the powers that came with it." Leon muttered wryly. He had not ever had cause to regret the choices he made or the bargain he struck, but it was still a little unnerving to hear it spoken aloud. "And you wouldn't be changing her nature, either. She would still remain who she is."

"My people were human once. It wasn't such a leap." D shook his head. "Her nature is completely opposed to what you propose."

"Is it?" Leon challenged. "She wouldn't say so. Wake her and ask her for yourself."

D glared at him in confusion. "Even if I could, what would it accomplish? I might do more harm than good."

Leon caught his hand and pulled him over to the tiny white flower. "Ask her. Ask her if she would like a dream of paradise to an eternity of pain without those she loves. Ask her whether it would harm things!"

D looked at him and tentatively put out a trembling hand toward the small bloom. His fingers touched it and suddenly, it was no longer a blossom but a fragile human-seeming figure curled on the grass. Strange, reddish eyes fluttered open and the flower maiden blinked at D in confusion. "This one does not know you. You are strange to this one. Not wolf, not human, not like this one. What are you?"

"I am called Count D, my lady." D managed, shooting an unsettled glance at Leon. "I am a guardian of all the kingdom as my kind has been for time out of mind."

She uncoiled, rising to her feet to stare at him with her unnerving eyes. "This one understands." She stretched pale fingers toward D, stopping just short of touching him. "This one has the memories of you from many of the ones who came before. But it was long ago, the last time one like this one set eyes on you. It has been a very long time since you have moved among the peoples of the world. The dying weakened you, then?"

D bowed his head in shame and nodded gravely. "I fled before it killed me and the last chance of the kingdom. Here I wait and will continue to wait."

She offered him a sudden, dazzling smile. "This one is glad you still live. Do you still guard the peoples?"

"As many as I could save."

"That is all this one could ask of you." Her strange eyes turned to Leon. "This one is confused by you. Are you guardian or human?"

"A little something of both." Leon said frankly, not flinching from her gaze for the single reason that he could not. He was frozen in place by her unnerving stare. "I was human."

Delighted laughter bubbled from her. "This one understands. He chose you and you him. This one did not expect that, but it is a good thing. No one should be alone."

For the first time in a long time, Leon blushed.

The flower maiden turned her attention back to D. "The world still sleeps beneath the snow. This one can feel the cold. Why have you awakened this one?"

D glanced at Leon and sighed. "You have stretched yourself thin, my lady. It will be a very long time before the world awakens from its icy slumber. More years than you know."

"But it will awaken. It has told this one so."

"Yes." D sighed again. "You understand that all will not be as it was before? We felt your pain as you slept."

Her voice filled with sadness. "Yes. This one has always known that to open paradise would be the last time this one could run with them. To run with them in paradise is not for one such as this." Her gaze turned to the sleeping wolves, and Leon could see the fierce love and devotion that filled her expressive face.

He turned to meet D's gaze and found that D's eyes were already searching for his. D's gaze was troubled, but not for the same reasons as before. He understood why Leon had proposed what he had.

"This is no paradise, lady," Leon spoke up. "But it can be a temporary refuge."

He froze as her reddish eyes turned to him again. Now he truly understood the deer-in-headlights feeling. He got it every time the strange flower girl looked his way. "This one does not understand. Temporary refuge?"

Leon sighed. "It's hard to explain. Can you be awake while the world mends?"

"The world sleeps yet. This one is awake. What do you mean?"

"Leon, let me." D put a slender hand on Leon's arm and smiled at him, a private and warm expression. Leon blushed again and stepped back.

D turned his attention to the flower maiden, waiting expectantly for him to go on. "What he is asking, my lady, is if you can divide your attention from the earth for a long time? Or should you return to sleep while the winter lasts?"

Her wide eyes turned inward for a long moment before she answered. "The world sleeps now and must sleep for a while yet. It tells this one such. It sleeps and rests for the return of warmth. It does not need this one yet." She returned her attention to D. "Why?"

D sighed and gestured at the pack that slumbered in the moonlight of this special room in the pet shop. "Would you run with the pack until the earth needs you once again? Would you like that respite from your labors, my lady?"

For the first time, Leon thought, she looked completely human. Her mouth fell open and her oddly-colored eyes widened. She was completely at a loss. "This-this one does not understand!"

"We can give you that." Leon stepped in. "As long as the winter lasts, we can let you rest here, with the pack you love. You can run with them until the earth wakes."

Her eyes brimmed with tears. "This one withers when the moonlight fades. This one cannot run so long, no matter how much she would wish to."

D stepped forward and dared to touch her for the first time since he had awakened her. He tilted her chin up to look her in the eyes. "Here, you will not. We will do something for you, something like the nobles did not dare. It might be painful, but it will allow you to run with the pack as you have desired." 

Her smile was like the dawning of a new day, so bright and full of joy. "If it can be done, this one will endure any pain."

Leon looked down at D with a grin. "Does that answer your questions?"

"Indeed." D offered his hand. The flower maiden smiled radiantly and put her hand in his.

D led them to a flat stretch of stone where the full moon glowed brilliantly down on them. "Sit here, please, my lady."

Puzzled but obedient, she sat in the middle of the expanse. D offered his hand to Leon, who took it without hesitation. "The moon I understand." Leon said, sotto voce. "But why the stone?"

"She is by nature, a plant. When we do this, she might instinctively reach for the ground to anchor herself and that will undo the working. Until she is fully absorbed in the power, we must isolate her from the dirt. The rock will do that effectively." D replied.

"Oh."

D smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "I will do the work, just lend me your power."

"All you have to do is ask." Leon replied with a smile.

"You do realize this will take almost all of your energy? You will be exhausted for days to come." D told him seriously as he maneuvered them into position over where the flower maiden sat. They stood, facing each other above her, both hands clasped to form a small circle that enclosed her.

"Strict bed-rest, huh?" Leon asked with a mischievous grin. "Doesn't sound so bad to me."

D scowled at him for a moment before he had to laugh. "Behave yourself."

Leon's grin was full of impish humor. "I always behave. Even when I'm behaving badly, I am _behaving_."

D freed a hand long enough to swat him lightly over the head.

Leon only grinned at him, taking D's hand back into his own. D frowned at him for a moment before closing his eyes and breathing deeply. "Prepare yourself," He told the maiden. "We begin."

She smiled at them and raised her hands to the full moon hanging overhead, singing sweetly for a moment. Leon closed his eyes in enjoyment of her song. Abruptly, she stopped singing and Leon felt the tingle of the power D raised shivering over his skin. He fed the power with his own, keeping his eyes tightly closed. Seeing the power (Oh, for gods sake, Orcot, call it what it is-_magic_) always made him faintly queasy.

He felt more than heard the anguished cry of the flower maiden. It made his head ache and he longed to clamp his hands over his ears, but D's nails bit into his skin and he knew better than to break the circle. Her voice scaled up into the unbearable, and then just as suddenly, cut off. But it hadn't stopped. He could still feel her scream vibrating in his bones and rattling his clenched teeth, but it had scaled beyond the range of his hearing. Grimacing at the pain they were causing her, Leon nevertheless continued to feed his power to D through their linked hands.

All at once the scream ended, leaving his bones aching in sympathy. A second later the power faded and he went to his knees, stunned. He felt like he had run a marathon and then swum a river, followed by another marathon. He had never been so tired in his entire life. Even when D had…

He shook his head to clear it. That had hurt more, but he hadn't been this exhausted. Slowly, he pried his eyes open to find D supporting him. "D-did it work?" He croaked.

D offered him a nod and a smile. "Better, even, than you hoped. Look!" He helped Leon raise his head. There, where the flower maiden had sat, was a slim, pale form stretched out on the rock.

Leon stared and laughed weakly. "It did, didn't it?" He let his head slump on D's shoulder.

De frowned at him in concern. "Yes. And now I think I should get you to bed. I didn't realized how much of your power we expended."

Leon would have shaken him off but there was no strength left in his arms. "No!" At D's startled look, he softened his tone. "No. I want to see. Let me stay when you wake the pack."

D's stern expression weakened and he nodded. "But afterward, you rest!" He warned as sternly as he could manage with a gentle smile that would not go away.

"Yes, mother."


	5. Chapter 5

Paradiso: Chapter Four-**Temporary Paradise**

_A/N- Thanks to LukiDimension and Lurker for reviewing. When we started writing this it wasn't much more than a vague idea of what would happen when Kiba's pack met Count D. It's been developing nicely, if slowly. Too many projects on the burner, you know. Also special thanks to Sesshy81 and her desire to borrow our OC characters from the "Wicked" (Which will continue, we promise!!) run for a lovely fic that Kita's been Betaing for her. If you haven't read it, check it out! The title is Predator and Prey and it involves Lee Sinhg, Coyote, and Entai. She won't tell us where she's going with this, but it's sure to be a fun ride._

_Luki-sama, This chapter could conceivably end the story, but Kita and I have a few ideas, so should we go on with it or not? It seems you and Lurker are the only ones who like this story at all._

Kiba woke with a start out of disjointed dreams of when Darcia had stolen Cheza, her scream still ringing in his ears. He shook his head and sat up. Where was he?

Memory came rushing back and he scrambled to his feet. The last leg of the journey and Toboe's death, his body cradled in the arms of the human, Quent Yaiden. The attack of Darcia, now transformed into a black wolf twice Kiba's size, and Hige and Blue falling to the madman's fangs. Tsume's desperate attempt to slow Darcia and his fey snarl as he told Kiba to go on. The fateful last battle with Darcia and the mad Noble's attempt to open paradise himself. Cheza's promise and walking, aching and weary, through the snow, the withered flower that was Cheza held gently in his teeth.

Kiba flung his head back and howled, full of despair.

"Shut up, dammit. You're giving me a headache." The basso growl was right out of his memories, and Kiba leapt a foot in the air, landing and whirling ungracefully.

"Some of us are trying to sleep here." A second voice complained.

Kiba stared in disbelief at Tsume, watching him with an irritated snarl. Hige raised his head from where it rested on Blue's flank and yawned lazily at him. Blue stirred and greeted Hige with a playful nip. Behind her, Toboe was the last to awaken, looking groggily for Tsume. "Tsume? I had a nightmare. Cheza was screaming and …"

Toboe shook his head. "What happened? Where's Cheza?"

Tsume shook his head and looked at Toboe with shock in his amber eyes. "Wait. Was that all just a dream? It hurt too damned much to be a dream!"

"No dream."

As one the entire pack turned to face the Chinese man in a silk robe that glided soundlessly over the grass toward them.

"Who are you?" Kiba growled.

"Don't you remember?" The man asked with a small smile playing on his thin lips. "You would not rest until you were certain they were safe."

That woke memories of a hazy, pain-filled moment when he had found himself in a darkened, incense-scented room. "You were there, you and the other one. Who are you people? Your scent is strange."

"I am called Count D. What I am is harder to describe. Suffice to say, I am a friend."

Tsume growled low in his throat. "You smell funny, but you look like a damned Noble!" That shot alarm through the rest of the pack and Hige flashed to his feet with a snarl. Blue echoed him a moment later.

A second voice, rough with weariness, startled them all. "He may call himself Count, but trust me, he's no Noble. He's just Count D. He's been called a lot of names, but the one you might understand is Kami. He's a nature Kami." The voice came from a man sitting beneath a tree, resting his back against the trunk. His scent was so thick with fatigue that they relaxed almost as one. He was no threat, even though his scent was strange as the one who called himself Count D.

Toboe perked up. "Granny used to tell me stories of Kami. How they protected the animals and made people '_see the error of their ways_.' She said the last Kami went away a long time ago."

D nodded. "Yes. The earth was dying and it would have killed me faster and surer than a bullet. My kind is bound to the earth and the creatures upon it. So I took my chances and fled, hoping to save those I could."

Tsume stalked toward him, stiff-legged. "What you call yourself doesn't matter! How did we get here? What did you do?" His voice was a raw howl of anguish. "We were dead! I know! I howled for Toboe, dammit! And Hige-" He broke off, glancing at the tawny-furred wolf sitting next to Blue. Hige nodded, understanding why he didn't want to say more. Not in front of Toboe. Never in front of him.

Toboe shivered. "I remember defending Pops, but…" His ears tilted back and he let out a confused whine.

D stepped forward and rested a hand on Toboe's head. "I heard your dying cries. The despair and longing for a better place, too."

The man beneath the tree laughed harshly, lifting exhaustion-shaded eyes to stare at Tsume. "He went down there to get you guys. It almost killed him." His blue eyes darted back to D. "I would have gone."

"It _would_ have killed you." D reprimanded gently. "You are nowhere near strong enough yet to have borne it. You would have died and they would still be down there, frozen in the ice." He turned his attention back to the wolves. "I found you and brought you here, while the last stubborn spark of life still lingered. Here you may safely wait for paradise."

Toboe shivered beneath his hand and his tail thumped the ground. His expression was full of bliss, and he looked up at D with adoring eyes. "He feels like Cheza, but stronger. Tsume, you've got to come try this!"

"Cheza!" Kiba jerked to his feet. "What about Cheza?"

D smiled at them and Toboe quivered harder under his hand. D turned and lifted his other hand. "See for yourselves."

They turned and Kiba's jaw dropped open as a slender she-wolf loped easily towards them. Her fur was a luminous white; so translucent it was limned with blue, like the full moon. She bounded toward them on slim legs and her eyes were a strange shade of red. As she reached D's side, she stopped and became the Cheza they had known so long. "Kiba! Tsume! Hige! Toboe! Blue! This one is glad to see you! So glad to see all of you!"

Toboe peered at her from around D. "Cheza? Is that really you?" He asked uncertainly.

She smiled at him. "Toboe. This one is happy to see you well."

Toboe approached her on trembling legs, quivering in eagerness. He sniffed the air. His head came up and his tail flagged. "Cheza! It is you!"

She knelt and welcomed him with open arms. Toboe wriggled in her arms like a puppy, tail pounding the grass and trying to lick her face. Cheza laughed delightedly before looking up and stretching a hand toward Kiba. "Kiba?"

He broke. His aloof manner died a sudden death and he leapt toward her as eagerly as Toboe. Cheza welcomed him with a broad smile and an embrace that was like coming home. After a long moment she drew away, shifting back to the delicate she-wolf and licking Kiba's face. That was the signal for all of them to crowd around her, welcoming her into the pack with abandon.

When they had calmed a little, Kiba sought D where he had joined the man under the tree. "Thank you. How did you…?"

D looked up and smiled. "It was what she desired. It was what you desired. I only provided the power."

"Hey!" The other man protested.

"We provided the power." D amended with a slight smile for the man beside him. "She had the will and most importantly, the desire. She wanted to run with you again. I made it so it was possible for her to do so."

Kiba looked back at where the pack had gathered around Cheza, plumed tails wagging and teeth bared in foolish grins of happiness. "You brought them back to me. I never had a pack until I met them. I never wanted or needed one, but I wouldn't have gotten so far as I did without them. You saved them. Thank you for that too."

The man beside D chuckled softly. "He was thrilled to find you all. He's been searching for the wolves for a damned long time."

D laughed, shushing him gently. "I confess, I had forgotten how well you could hide yourselves. I did not think to look for you among humans, disguised as the same. There you outwitted me."

"And that's the last time you'll ever hear him admit that," Chuckled the other wearily. "He's so sure of himself. But you all surprised him." He turned his blue gaze on the pack. "Until you joined the flower maiden, he didn't have clue one that you were still alive. The appearance of such a… diverse pack thrilled him, you can bet."

"Leon, shush." D reprimanded softly. "How was I to know that one member of a race that was believed to be extinct, even by myself, would show up now? It was rather a surprise."

Kiba stared at him without comprehension. "What?"

D sighed. "Never mind. Just know that your pack is very special. That is all that is important."

Kiba looked back at the pack as Cheza loped to join him, moving easily in her new form. Behind her, Hige had started an impromptu tussle with Toboe. Blue joined the fracas and then to everyone's surprise, Tsume leapt into the middle of the brawl. He shouldered Toboe and deftly twisted Hige's tail. He dashed away, the rest of the pack following him in delighted, carefree play.

Cheza came to Kiba's side and stood beside him in her human guise. Wordlessly, he slipped an arm around her waist and watched the others trying to catch Tsume. "Yes," he agreed. "That is what's important. That and being together again."

Cheza smiled at him. "Yes. This one is glad too."

Suddenly, Hige bolted over to knock Kiba head over tail. With an indignant yelp, Kiba sprang after him, followed by Cheza.

Leon leaned tiredly against D's shoulder as they watched the reunited pack play. "Why didn't you tell them?"

"They are content. What would it do to tell then that one of their pack is of a strain of wolf that went extinct long, long ago? As long as they are here and happy in the shop, I am content too."

Leon sighed. "Maybe. But I have a feeling there's more to him being here now than any of us know."

"Perhaps." D smoothed Leon's blonde hair with the fingers of one hand. "You should rest. You are exhausted."

Leon nodded, but didn't move. "Just let me watch them for a little while longer."

"Of course."

D watched the wolves until Blue collapsed next to Hige, panting happily. Cheza and Kiba nuzzled each other affectionately while Tsume pinned Toboe and licked the smaller wolf's ear with fierce affection. D glanced at Leon, unsurprised to find he had fallen asleep. He rose and easily gathered Leon in his arms, leaving the wolves to their temporary paradise.

_A/N- So what do you think? Comments and criticism welcome. Do you hate it? Do you love it? Does it annoy you? (Do you think Akita is an annoying spaz who should keep her hands off my computer?) Subu-chan, that's **not nice**!!!!!!! _


	6. Chapter 6

Paradiso: Chapter Five-**Cracks in Paradise**

D lay awake, feeling the weight of the sleeping body next to him. He absently stroked Leon's soft golden hair, staring into the darkness. He could not say what troubled him; only that it was near and powerfully strong.

"What is it?" Leon's voice was rough with sleep. "What's the matter, D?"

"You feel it too?"

"I feel something. What is it?"

D shook his head and sat up, the room brightening as he did. "I do not know. Something is coming. Something strong and dangerous."

Leon rubbed at his upper arms like he had caught a chill. D glanced at him, a little dismayed at how weary the other man looked still. His eyes were sunken and shadowed deeply and there were lines etched around his mouth as he frowned absently at the wall. D pulled a blanket around Leon's broad shoulders, matching him frown for frown when Leon blinked him into focus with a scowl.

"You are still not recovered from the working." D reprimanded softly. "You are no longer what you were, but you can still take ill. And exhaustion combined with power depletion is one of the easiest ways to go about it." He quirked a rueful half-smile at Leon. "Take it from the voice of experience. I did it to myself when I was very young and inexperienced. It took me a long time to recover my strength and longer still to gain back my health, even with Grandfather taking care of me. You do not need to suffer the same."

Leon chuckled softly. "You just don't want to have to baby me if I get sick, right?"

D offered him a superior smile. A long time ago that smile would have grated on his nerves, but now Leon knew it was only playful. He had learned that D had an impish sense of humor. D leaned in and tapped the end of his nose with one sharp fingernail. "Exactly right, my dear detective."

Leon shrugged uncomfortably. "Don't call me that, D. It's been a long time since I was a detective. A _really _long time."

D sighed and settled against Leon's side. Without thinking about it, Leon automatically shifted to support his weight, slipping an arm around D's slender shoulders. "You may no longer have the title, but you forever will have the heart of a detective. I knew it the first time I met you. You search for the truth behind the truth, always."

Leon grunted noncommittally, but D saw the pleased flush warming his cheeks. "Well, what's the truth behind the truth of what we were sensing earlier?" Leon asked quietly, tilting his head to look at D.

D frowned, troubled. "I do not know. It is strange. I am very much disturbed by the feel of it."

"What are we going to do?"

"_We _will do nothing." D said archly, disentangling himself from Leon's embrace. "_I _will see if any of the others might know the feel of this power. _You_ will rest and recover your strength."

"D…"

"D, nothing. This is not open for negotiation." D rose from the bed and glared down at the blonde man. "You have expended far too much of your strength. You need to rest." At the rebellious scowl, D softened his tone, adding a pleading note. "Please, Leon?"

Leon sighed and sulkily sank back down among the pillows. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be a good little invalid."

D settled lightly on the edge of the bed and embraced him again. "Just until you recover."

Leon grumbled but relaxed into the embrace. "Fine, I'll behave."

D pressed against him and dropped a gentle kiss on his forehead. Leon scowled in frustration when D pulled away. "That's it?"

D's smile was sly. "You have to recover some strength first."

"Dammit, D!"

Kiba looked up as he caught the scent of the blonde guardian. His scent had lost the heavy thickness of exhaustion, but was still tainted with weariness. Leaving Cheza napping in the shade of a tree, he rose to his feet and padded softly up the cliff-side to where the man sat, staring down into the valley where the pack rested.

He made no noise, but the blonde greeted him without turning. "Hello-Kiba, wasn't it?"

Kiba sat beside him in human guise. "That's right. What was your name-Leon, wasn't it?"

The other laughed. "Right. Sorry. Guess we haven't been properly introduced yet. My name's Leon Orcot. Nice to meet you."

"I remember you. You were there when I first woke. You were the one who showed me the others."

"Yep." Leon grinned at him. "That was me. You wouldn't settle down until you knew they were all safe."

"Thank you for that." Kiba eyed the man sitting next to him. To the eye, he was human, and his manner furthered that impression. But his scent was an odd thing, a strange amalgamation of human and '_other_,' that indefinable odor that marked Count D and to a lesser extent, Cheza. "What exactly are you?" Kiba asked bluntly. "You aren't human, at least not entirely anymore."

Leon shook his head. "No. I was human, but I became something else, something like D, though not entirely. It's hard to explain." He shoved a hand through his unruly blonde hair with a sigh. "I first met D a really long time ago. God, it's a little scary just how long ago. Long before the domes and the Nobles. I was human, just an ordinary cop. D was a suspect in a case I was investigating. I got to know him, and before I knew it, I was a little obsessed. At first, he was just my pet obsession, but somewhere along the way, we became a strange sort of friends."

Leon laughed harshly before continuing. "It was a strange relationship, let me tell you. Somewhere along the way, I stopped trying to pin every strange case on him and started to trust him. Hell, I even let my kid brother stay in his pet shop while I was at work. Then something happened. It's a little too much to go into, but let's just say that D left town. Somewhere along the way, it drove me a little nuts. I quit my job and left everything I knew to try and track him down." He broke off his story suddenly and turned to see Toboe lying on his belly a few paces away, listening alertly. Leon chuckled softly.

"I didn't think I was that great of a storyteller, kid, but if it's that fascinating, you're welcome to listen in." Toboe glanced at Kiba, a low whine building in his throat. Kiba nodded and Toboe's tail thumped the ground twice. He inched closer, resting his head on Leon's knee. Leon looked down at him in surprise and then tentatively stroked the fur between his pricked ears. Toboe sighed in bliss and looked up at him with adoring golden eyes.

"Which one are you?" Leon asked.

"I'm Toboe." The youngest of the pack answered. "Man, you feel nice, like the Count and Cheza." He shivered all the fur on his body and heaved a huge sigh. "You smell funny, but in a nice way."

"Thanks, I think." Leon laughed and continued to smooth the fur on Toboe's head. Toboe's tail thumped steadily against the ground.

"Tell me the rest, mister, please. I thought it was really interesting." Toboe pled.

"Okay, kid, you win. Just remember, I'm not much of a storyteller." Leon glanced at Kiba. "To make a long story short, I tracked him for a long time before I found him. Better to say, he found me. It was something of a surprise to both of us. I was on the verge of just giving up and going back home when I heard his voice. He was apologizing to someone, saying he had mistaken him for someone else. I turned around and there he was. We must have stared at each other for a good five minutes before we spoke. It was kinda funny. We both said 'It's you!' at the same time.

"Turns out, he was looking for me too. Not on purpose, but in a way like how I was dedicated to pinning everything I could on him. He told me he would find himself turning to say something to me, only to remember I wasn't there anymore, or seeing someone on the street who looked like me and being surprised and disappointed when it wasn't." He laughed. "Guess you could call it fate, us meeting like that."

A low, musical voice joined the conversation. "This one would not call it that. Fate is luck and chance, but destiny is what is meant to be." Cheza came up the hillside to rest a hand on Kiba's shoulder. "It was destiny that this one would meet these wolves and no other. It was destiny that Kiba was meant to meet this one. It is this one's destiny to reawaken the world that sleeps in the ice." She dropped to her knees beside Leon and touched his cheek with delicate fingers. "As it was destiny that brought you two back together. You were destined to be together."

Leon shivered under her strange eyes. "You think it was destiny, huh?"

Cheza offered him a rare smile. "This one does not think; this one knows. This one can feel the hand of destiny weighing heavy on your shoulders."

Leon looked away. "When I was human, I would have argued with you, lady, but I've seen way too much weird stuff since then. I never believed in destiny, though."

Cheza shook her pale head. "Destiny believes in you. Destiny does not mean that all is predetermined; only that certain events must and will happen. What one makes of them, what choices are made, all are free will given form. It was destiny that you would meet again, but a thousand paths could have diverged from there. You could have chosen to walk away, he could have resented your interference, you both might have ended up hating each other, but destiny was borne out in your finding one another again."

Leon stared at the flower maiden with wide eyes before shaking his head. "That's a little scary to think about."

"It is. But go on. This one would hear how you became what you are now." She settled against Kiba's shoulder.

"What am I-a book on tape?" At the blank looks he received, Leon sighed and shook his head again. "Never mind. I forgot that you guys wouldn't get that reference. I'm showing my age."

Toboe, who had inched over so he could lie between Cheza and Leon, raised his head. "You're not old."

Leon chuckled and ruffled Toboe's reddish fur. "Thanks for thinking that, kid, but you couldn't be more wrong."

"I'm not a kid!"

Leon glanced down at Toboe, who had resumed his human guise to give him a sulky frown. He chuckled and raised his hands in surrender. "My mistake. You're not a kid."

Toboe nodded, contented, and gave his full attention back to the matter at hand. "Finish the story."

Leon laughed. "Right. Where was I?"


	7. Chapter 7

Paradiso: Chapter Six-**Illusions of Paradise**

_A/N- Well the muse struck again. Here's the next chapter of Paradiso. Many thanks to Darkchild, youko-love,Luki-Dimension, Mousewolf and Boredom is my middle name for reading and reviewing. Not sure where this is going, but it's bound to be an interesting ride..._

* * *

"Where did I leave off?"

Toboe tipped his head toward Cheza. "You called it fate and Cheza said it was destiny that you two met again."

"Right." Leon paused and rolled his eyes with a half-amused sigh of exasperation. He raised his voice. "You might as well come out. I can sense you lurking in the rocks, y'know."

"I'm not lurking!" Hige protested, rising from the cluster of rocks and brush he had concealed himself in. "Tsume lurks. I hide with dignity and skill."

"All the skill of a half-dead puppy, porky." Tsume growled from behind him as he trotted openly up the hill, Blue following close behind.

"He's right, Hige." Blue commented with a laugh as she loped up to her mate. "Your tail was sticking out." She nipped the appendage in question as Hige looked offended for all of three seconds. Then he suddenly developed an itch and sat down for a scratch, pointedly ignoring Tsume's laughter.

Leon chuckled. "I feel like I'm a librarian with a bunch of preschoolers for storytime." He muttered to no one in particular_. Not that any of this bunch would get that reference,_ he thought wryly. It wasn't like wolves went to libraries anyway.

Blue ignored Hige's theatrics in favor of trotting up to Leon. She sat in front of him and stared into his face for a long moment. "You remind me of Pops. I like the way you smell. You smell like him and like Cheza, too. It's nice."

"Thanks, I think." Leon said uncertainly, staring into her bright blue eyes. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It is." Toboe hastened to assure him. "Blue loved Pops."

"Pops? He was human, right?"

Blue shivered and nodded, a tear leaking from her eye. "Pops was all I lived for after Ruus died. I wanted to stay with him always."

Leon reached out and rested his hand on top of her head. His eyes fluttered shut as he absorbed what she could tell him of the human she adored. At last, he looked up, blue eyes meeting blue. "He loved you too. It's there in your memories. Even when he told you that you weren't his dog anymore, it was so you would have a chance to be happy."

Blue trembled and abandoning her human form, flung herself into Leon's arms; desperate for the reassurance he gave her. Leon grinned and let himself be human again, digging his fingers into her thick, black fur and scratching her ruff and behind her ears. Blue shivered in bliss, her eyes closing as she squirmed in his lap like the puppy she was once. Leon held her until she calmed and then released her.

"D once told me, if two creatures are bound by love, they would always find each other again. It may take centuries of separation and many lives, but they will be drawn together again. Believe that." Leon told her seriously. "Someday, you and he will meet again."

"Do you really think so?" Her voice trembled.

"I know so."

Toboe grinned. "That's great, Blue. Someday you'll be with Pops again." His eyes were a little sad, Leon noted.

"Someday," Leon said. "One thing I learned, it's where there's love, there's a way. Sometimes, it might be a long time, centuries, maybe-but love comes back."

Toboe lifted his head, eyes sparkling with tears but smiling.

Leon sighed. God, he hadn't done this much emoting since he had finally come to terms with loving D. _That_ had been a roller-coaster ride and a half, especially when it came to confessing to D. "Well," he said brightly. "Now that the gang's all here, do I finish the story?"

"This one would hear the rest." Cheza smiled. "It is not often that a Kami takes a mate. In all the memories passed to this one by the ones who have gone before and by the tree of ages, it has happened only once."

Toboe brightened. "Hey, yeah! Finish the rest!"

Leon glanced around, noting the others looked either interested or bored, depending on their nature. Kiba watched him with the calm, intent stare that Leon was coming to think was his favorite expression.

"Right. So, after searching for him for a long time, we sort of stumbled into each other. Things didn't go well at first." Leon laughed shortly, remembering the cornered expression that had flashed across D's normally imperturbable face for a bare instant before he broke and ran. "He ran from me like a rabbit would run from one of you guys. You've never seen anything run so fast. For someone who claims to have no endurance, he nearly ran me into the ground." Leon shook his head. "But I'd lost him once and I wasn't about to do it again."

He chuckled reluctantly. "I chased him all the way to his pet shop, which, by the way, we're inside. Don't ask me the logistics on that, cause I have no idea whatsoever. I've explored this place a hundred times and I still keep finding places I've never seen before." Leon laughed. "I wound up on a glacier once. If D hadn't found me, I'd be a ice cube now."

"He ran inside, and I followed, right into the teeth of a really bad-tempered, man-eating goat from hell who hated my guts from the first. He started chewing on me while D stood there like a cornered deer and stared at me like I couldn't be real. I was fighting with the goat when Pon-chan pounced on me."

He grinned at the memory. "Pon-chan is a little raccoon-looking critter that used to play with my little brother when Chris stayed at the pet-shop. Don't know exactly what she is, but she's been here since before I knew D and she still looks the same, so I'd venture to say she's not your typical raccoon. I'll have to introduce you guys sometime. She climbed all up my arm and started chattering at high speed about missing Chris and I and wondering where Chris was."

He shook his head and looked out past the gathered pack. "Now, mind you, I was still just a human at this point. To me all the animals had only ever looked like animals. I had only seen their human forms once in what I had thought was a crazy-assed dream at the time. I had started to understand Pon-chan, but never realized it. I'd only seen her human once, that last time I saw D. Now suddenly, here she was, clinging to my shoulder, looking like a little girl in frills and curls and talking away a storm." He chuckled. "I was a little startled. I wound up falling on my ass and staring into the face of the man-eating goat and realizing that he looked human too. Still chewing on my leg like I was the main course, but human-looking." Leon chuckled.

"I'm not sure who was more startled at that moment; me, Tetsu, Pon-chan or D. I freaked and started yelling at Tetsu." Leon interrupted himself again. "That's the man-eating goat, by the way. You'll meet him later.

"I pried Tetsu off my leg and shook him, yelling something at D-I don't quite remember what exactly, but something about what the hell drugs he had in his incense-when Tetsu bit me again." He paused and rolled up his sleeve to reveal a perfect bite scar, white against his tanned skin. The wolves looked on it with respect. Whatever had made that had teeth as formidable as any of them. "I pulled him off and told him in no uncertain terms that if he didn't stop biting me I was going to pull off one of his damned horns and shove it right up his harem-pants-wearing-ass.

"Those were my exact words," Leon added, holding up a hand. "They all stopped and stared at me like I'd flipped, which at that point, I wouldn't really try to deny. Tetsu glared at me and said, 'You can see me?!' I don't know which one of us was more startled, but I said, 'You've been chewing on my leg like it's a drumstick and you want to know if I can frigging see you?' Right about then I realized what I was yelling at and sat down hard." Leon shook his head with a rueful chuckle.

"D, looking like a scared kid, took a couple of steps toward me and asked, 'You can hear Tetsu, then?' I started laughing. I guess it was a combo of exhaustion, giddiness at finding him and just plain lunacy, but I caught his wrist and pulled him down in my lap and hugged him, bleeding arm and all. 'I found you!' I kept repeating. 'I finally found you.' I must have said it a dozen times if I said it once-"

"And I do believe that is what convinced me I was not seeing things."

They all turned to see D padding soundlessly up the rocky hillside, a large creature at his side that looked like a combination of tiger and sheep with curved horns and a mouthful of sharp teeth. The wolves all tensed, but D waved a hand. "This is Tetsu, my friends, and he will not bother you." The strange creature shimmered and became a lean young man with curved ram's horns peeping through his unruly cloud of reddish hair. True to Leon's description, he was dressed in a pair of oversized harem pants and a short vest. He scowled at Leon and nodded politely to the pack.

D settled down beside Leon and smiled at the pack.

Leon mock scowled at D. "What was it that convinced you? Me babbling like a loony or the blood all over your silk dress?"

D sighed. "For the umpteenth time, it is a cheongsam and not a dress. And I was referring to you holding onto me like I might vanish."

Leon snorted. "Yeah, well, you did that once and I wanted to make sure you didn't do it again."

D offered him a tender smile and reached to brush a lock of blonde hair out of Leon's eyes. Tetsu growled under his breath and looked like he was contemplating biting Leon again.

Tsume snorted dust out of his nose and lay down next to Toboe. "If you're through going off on tangents, you wanna finish the story?" He asked pointedly.

Leon flashed him a grateful look and Tetsu stopped growling, though he still gave the impression of wanting to do serious harm to the blonde man.

"Right. D, you want to help, or do I subject these poor guys to more of my lack of story-telling skills?"

D chuckled. "If I leave it up to you, the story will not be finished by the time the earth awakens."

Leon scowled at him. "Ha-ha-funny."

D just smiled at him and settled against his shoulder. "When Leon could be pried off of me and convinced that he was not, in fact, going crazy, I made sure that he understood that all of the stories his little brother had told him were actually reality. His little brother was gifted with seeing and understanding my pets, perhaps because he could not speak. I asked him why he had tracked me down. You see, when we parted, I was sure we would never see each other again."

"Not my fault," Leon said with a scowl. "You're the one that said I hadn't earned the right to be there. And by the way, you're still not forgiven for pushing me out of the damned boat. I hate heights!"

D slanted a small smile at him and Leon shut up. "And you had not earned the right to be there. None of your race had." D paused. "But you had tracked me down, across three continents and myriad Chinatowns. And you told me-?"

Leon chuckled. "I said I had to return something you had left behind. Something that you treasured, even when you were running away."

"What was it?" Toboe asked eagerly.

"You remember I mentioned my little brother, Chris, who stayed at the pet shop a lot? Well, once he drew a picture of all of us. Me, him, D, Tetsu and Pon-chan all together. D took that picture with him when he left, but lost it in the mess that followed. And no, I'm not going to comment on that, because if I do, D will be right and we'll never get to the end of the damned story. I carried that picture with me all the while I searched for him."

D smiled softly. "You gave me the picture I had left behind and I could not believe that you had come so far for such a thing."

"It was an excuse to find you again."

"I know that." D smiled again and wrinkled his nose playfully at the man beside him. Tetsu growled softly. "I took him in and bandaged his wounds and spoke to him of what had driven him to seek me out again. It was a long conversation."

"Call it what it was-an argument." Leon added with a smile.

"Yes, well, it was that too. You seem to bring that out in me." D added wryly. "But neither of us had reckoned on just how little time was left to us." His face darkened and Tetsu and Leon both reacted with distress. D waved them off. "It is all right. It is long in the past, and the pain is tempered now by your continued presence."

Tetsu subsided, but Leon touched D's face gently. "What he means is that I was already dying. I had pushed myself past my limits and, well…"

"Your body was broken past all mending. You had just come back to me and you were already leaving me again."

Tetsu chuckled meanly. "You could say he was dying to leave again."

D leveled a glare at the Totetsu. "T-chan!"

Leon touched his arm. "Easy. He may be a bastard about it, but he's right. I was dying." He scowled at the Totetsu. "But I didn't want to leave, fuzz-butt."

Tetsu harumphed but subsided into silence again.

"Anyway, to make a long story short, in the middle of our fight, I started to fade in and out. And then I collapsed. I remember D holding me and thinking kinda fuzzily that all the red clashed with his outfit. And then it all went blank."


End file.
